2nd half of package

[ttmitsu]

the tank looks great it took more effort then i thought it would to aquascape, but it came out good. i ended up with tons of coral and hitch hikers as well as 6 large anemones, 4 of the orangish ones that were already on the rocks and the the 2 extra they threw in pink tipped and the flat one, besides multiple small ones.
i only have 2 problems

1) the tank finished its second mini cycle and i have two clownfish and a blenny in a smaller tank that are going into this one, problem is i know for a fact there are still 2 mantis shrimp in there on is about 1" and the other is 2" are the fish safe in the same tank as them? i spent all day trying to catch them and i cant do it seeing there heads and always knowing were they are. can i safely put fish in?

2) the 2 cukes i recieved one was dead on arrival the other one "nuked the tank" it spit up its stomach guts etc, i took its insides out of the tank nothing in the tank died ( not even him ) whats going on? i thought all hell was supposed to break loose, do the chemicals only kill fish and since there is no fish i cant see the results? also should i dispose of him , he is still moving around, i heard the never grow there intestines back in captivity is this true?

thanks for the help i am extremely satisfied and having another tank with store bought $10 per lb rock and southdown really makes me see how much better your stuff is thanks

ps there was a tiny black crab i got with the first half of my package and now he is the size of a fifty cent piece and ive never seen anything like himanyone have any ideas?

 

[landlord]

Greetings,

If you are looking for opnions, I've got one for you.

1. Mantis Shrimp can be quite the annoyance. I have since captured 4 of them from 150 lbs of TBS. They now live in my macroalgae filter quite happily. I still have two in the main tank. I have pretty much given up all hope of catching them. I actually gave up all hope several months ago and was fortunate that two of them were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and I got them. I caused quite a bit of destruction trying to root them out originally. For example, pulling out the liverock and submersing it in freshwater whilst pouring club soda into the mantis lairs (no luck there, just killed a bunch of sponges). Example two. Large mantis was holed up in a 5 lb piece of rock. Removed the rock and poured really hot water into the hole. This created shrimp scampi in the piece of liverock. I had to move that piece of rock to a spare tank and let the red reef crabs feast on him until I felt like they had eaten all of the yumminess he provided. That piece of liverock had a cool xmas worm that got roasted in the process. The funny thing about it is that the mantis really are just an annoyance. They clip off a few barnacles from time to time but that is about all they have really done in the tank. I still have two in the main which have made burrows and all they ever seem to do anymore is come out and grab brine / mysis shrimp during feeding time. I have 7 fish in the tank that do not get bothered at all. In hindsight I wish I would have just kept a keen eye on the tank and caught the mantis when they weren't prepared for it. It will happen. They are smart but not overly smart and will eventually come out in the open where you will be able to get them. I got lucky with one of them who got grabbed by a TBS blue legged hermit. He couldn't get away and I scooped them both up. Your fish should be fine if you are certain the cycle is complete.

2. Keep you eyes on the cukes. I started out with four. One of them decided to take a trip into the grating on the power head. Nasty business. Another one just turned into goo in the tank. The last two are OK and have been fine for months. Toxicity of dead specimens can be risky. Lots of chemicals in that soup. One day something may die and all will be well. The next day something could die and everything else can follow. The TBS liverock life seems to be very resiliant but fish are another story. Be careful, if you are in doubt remove them.

Have Fun with your Tank and enhoy the TBS Liverock! We all do!

kurt